Melatonin and DCs?

[fauve01]

Do any of you give your kids melatonin to help them sleep? there doesn't seem to be much info out there, so i thought i would post here to see what you all know and do, before i check with DD's ped at her 5YO checkup in Oct.

DD is the kind of kid who has trouble winding down. she doesn't want to miss anything and doesn't seem--has never seemed-- to need as much sleep as other kids her age For example, she totally gave up naps at 19 months (!) and last spring she made it to LA to England without sleeping at all--was awake 26+ hours before crashing.

anyway, my aunt is an internist and told me melatonin is safe for kids (my cousin's ped recommended it for my cousin). i have given a very small amount to DD on a couple occasions (the night before kindy started, when we travel, etc) and it does really help her wind down and sleep. now that we have morning school, the transition has been really hard.

anyway, any experiences appreciated.
thanks.
anne + dd 10-03

[lilycat88]

No first hand experience but I have a friend with a DS just like your DC. She took him to a pediatric sleep clinic at the children's hospital here when he was just over 4. They were able to solve their sleep issues in one visit and without moving to using Melatonin. That was the next step if these things didn't help. These are "natural" ways to get the body back in sync.

No television or radio on in the house for an hour before bedtime. Not just the child watching....none at all.
No music in the bedroom.
A warm bath every night followed by the child getting "cold". She did this by letting him run around naked in the cool house after bath. The body needs the temperature change to give it the cue it's time to sleep.
Waking and going to sleep at consistent times.
Upon waking, all drapes open and lights on. Again, to cue the body that it's time to wake up.

Within 3 days, he was falling asleep on his own at 8:30 and sleeping until 6:30 or so. This was after previously not going to sleep until 11:30 or later.

[elephantmeg]

I have a coworker that gives it to her 5 year old, it apparently works wonders for him

[lizajane]

I am very interested to hear if anyone can list any negatives about melotonin. I give it to both my kids, as they have MAJOR trouble with sleep and i could go on and on. it has helped us and is really helping some friends we know, too.

ETA: was short on time earlier, but wanted to add that my kids always wake up early in the am. so exposing them to am light is not a problem/solution. and for one child, it is mental illness that does not allow him to sleep at night and for the other, it is a cycle of waking too early, wanting to sleep during the day, then being unable to sleep at night from the daytime sleep. then, the next day, because he has gone to bed so late (we TRY, but he just gets up over and over and can-not-sleep) he wakes up earlier and the cycle continues. mine go to bed at 8pm every night and dylan wakes up between 6am and 7am- with 7am being sleeping late for him. schuyler wakes between 7 and 8am on his own, but dylan usually wakes him earlier. so in short- dylan has sleep cycle/timing problems and schuyler has a neurological problem that makes it incredibly difficult for him to get to sleep.

[cchavez]

I give it to my son w/ SPD and would love to give it to my NT almost 3 year old but I have not yet....

[pinkmomagain]

lilycat - thanks for sharing all that info. i could really use some of those ideas for 2 of mine, who have a hard time winding down. thanks for taking the times to write that out! i actually tried melatonin on dd1, but when we needed to see a psychopharmocologist for another matter, he advised against it. i can't remember why...

[lilycat88]

Liza,
The doctor my friend saw recommended Melatonin as a next step if the list of things I mentioned earlier didn't work. The doctor indicated melatonin was frequently used in the sleep clinic patients and was safe. She said it didn't work well with all kids, though.

Jamelin

[aa2mama]

Because melatonin is a hormone (the only hormone available in the U.S. without a prescription), I would not give it to a child.

I think that further studies are needed to prove that it is safe. There have been preliminary findings that it may cause memory loss:
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/article?slug=sleep_hormone_may_hurt49

When given to animals, it can affect fertility and blood pressure:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.2421201/k.5FF7/Melatonin__The_Basic_Facts.htm

Melatonin works. I've always had trouble falling asleep, and it really helped me (as a teenager/adult). However, after learning of some of its potential side effects, I stopped taking it.

[fauve01]

No first hand experience but I have a friend with a DS just like your DC. She took him to a pediatric sleep clinic at the children's hospital here when he was just over 4. They were able to solve their sleep issues in one visit and without moving to using Melatonin. That was the next step if these things didn't help. These are "natural" ways to get the body back in sync.

No television or radio on in the house for an hour before bedtime. Not just the child watching....none at all.
No music in the bedroom.
A warm bath every night followed by the child getting "cold". She did this by letting him run around naked in the cool house after bath. The body needs the temperature change to give it the cue it's time to sleep.
Waking and going to sleep at consistent times.
Upon waking, all drapes open and lights on. Again, to cue the body that it's time to wake up.

Within 3 days, he was falling asleep on his own at 8:30 and sleeping until 6:30 or so. This was after previously not going to sleep until 11:30 or later.

Thanks, Lilycat, for writing all this down. we are currently doing ALL these things except the running around naked after the warm bath. we'll try that.

we definitely have the tv turned OFF by 5pm every night. in fact we watch very little tv, and now that morning school has started, dd often gets no tv at all.

we have never had music in the bedroom. DD has a noise machine (turned to waterfalls) that is on at bed time and rest time only.

we have had a rock solid night time routine for ages and dd does very well with it. she's in bed bet 7:30 and 8pm every night. or i should say i close dd's door at that time! she is often up for at least an hour (or more) past that, playing/reading quietly in her room.

we have room darkening fabric behind the curtains and they are open when it's daytime, and cloesd at bedtime.

thanks for the info.
anne

[fauve01]

Because melatonin is a hormone (the only hormone available in the U.S. without a prescription), I would not give it to a child.

I think that further studies are needed to prove that it is safe. There have been preliminary findings that it may cause memory loss:
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/article?slug=sleep_hormone_may_hurt49

When given to animals, it can affect fertility and blood pressure:
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.2421201/k.5FF7/Melatonin__The_Basic_Facts.htm

Melatonin works. I've always had trouble falling asleep, and it really helped me (as a teenager/adult). However, after learning of some of its potential side effects, I stopped taking it.

thanks. unfortunately your first link didn't work for me, but the second article was informative.

anne

[LBW]

This Vanderbilt Psych Dept article summarizes some research (although it all seems to be 90's-era studies) including a 1994 study concerning melatonin's effectiveness with children. I started taking melatonin a few weeks ago to try to deal with my own insomnia. I think it's helping a bit, but not a huge amount. I did notice that one day when I took a 4 mg dose instead of 3 mg I felt awful that night and the next day - really groggy and out of it. So, if you are giving it to your kids, start with the lowest possible dose!

ETA: links!

the Vandy article
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/melatonin.htm

and a few more interesting sites, some with links to more recent studies:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-03-02-kids-melatonin_N.htm
http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/melinchilwsl.html
http://www.worldhealth.net/news/use_of_melatonin_in_children